Editor's desk: GDC bound!

I'm about to leave for San Francisco, California and the Game Developer Conference (GDC 2013). I certainly don't have to tell anyone here how great the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are for gaming. Whether or not Apple "gets" gaming, they've enabled a lot of technology that a lot of developers have used to make great games. That's why, increasingly, iOS is a big deal in the gaming industry, and at events like GDC.

I'll be there along with our gaming editor Simon Sage, and Windows Phone Central's Paul Acevedo. Our goal at the show is to get a better idea of where mobile gaming is going in 2013, get a look at some upcoming titles, and do our very best to bring you all with us. As always, the official stuff will go up right here on iMore, Android Central, CrackBerry, and Windows Phone Central, and if you want the behind-the-scenes shenanigans, you should follow us on Twitter @reneritchie, @simonsage, and @segacon.

Because I'm flying today, I recorded the iMore show on Friday, and with Dieter Bohn from the Verge to boot. (Dieter started the show way back in 2007, and the first podcast I ever did was with Dieter, so it was great to have him back on.) He's one of the mightiest minds in mobile, and the show was a blast, so if you haven't already, check it out.

We've also got what might be the biggest episodes of Debug in the history of Debug coming your way Monday, so make sure you check back here in the morning. You won't want to miss it.

We've gotten a ton of applications already, but since I'll be away, we won't even be able to start going through them until next week. That means there's still plenty of time to get yours in. Also, We may be looking for a few more part-time writers in the near future, so if you don't have the experience necessary to help run a site like iMore -- and frankly, that skill set isn't too common yet -- there'll be ways to get a start too. More on that soon!

Also, If you're a developer, designer, gamer, or iMore reader in SF, don't hesitate to say hello. I'd love to talk to you.

Now, up up and away!

Part deux

I typically get to the airport about 2 hours early for US flights because both security lines and customs lines can be long. Yes, we clear US customs on the Canadian side because it's cheaper for the US to staff the few Canadian airports than the many, many US airports. (However a notice as posted that US budget problems were resulting in reduced staff -- thanks everyone!).

Impossibly, both security and customs were line-less. Absolutely without line. I cleared in about 5 minutes, went to my gate, and blogged for a bit. Then we boarded the plane and that's where the fun began.

We left the gate on time and taxied to the runway only to stop dead and sit there for an hour. Apparently a warning light had momentarily gone off and even though a reboot of the system "fixed it", they had to weight on approval from maintenance to go. Interestingly, they SMS'd maintenance and were awaiting a go-order back by SMS. And it never came. (Come on, seriously, check your phones!)

So, eventually, our by-now irate captain had to return us to the gate and go hunt for maintenance. We also had to refuel by then. Yikes. Odds were 50/50 at this point whether we'd leave or the flight would be cancelled, but odds were 100/0 almost all of our connections had been missed.

At this point a bunch of guys got stressed and demanded to de-board. They needed an escort, and to have their bags removed, so more time. Eventually we got our good-to-go, and by then two of the knuckle heads were back demanding to be let back on the plane.

So, almost 3 hours and several human-caused problems later, we finally took off. Delta, to make it up to everyone, offered free booze and $6 vouchers. Yay? I got rebooked on a later flight, though my seat changed from front row aisle to mid-row middle. I hate that seat. Hot and claustrophobic, but rebookers can't be choosers.

While at Detroit airport, with lots of time to kill, I polled Twitter asking for food recommendations. The unanimous consensus was a "Coney", which I thought was an island in New York but turns out to be a hot dog with meat sauce and onions. Guess what we call those in Montreal? Michigan's. It was good though. (I troll Instagram with food pics, so check there for visuals.) It was good, aided by the sight of the indoor monorail zipping back and forth, and the whimsy that came from the waitress explaining to me that their Pepsi product name for Sprite and 7 Up was Sierra Mist at that particular airport establishment.

The plane was late, and took a while to board, so we left for San Francisco late. There was an iMore fan sitting up front, however, who was nice enough to introduce himself and let me know he was enjoying the podcast lately. I didn't catch his name, but if he's -- if you're -- reading this, thanks. Means the world.

The second leg of my flight had Wi-Fi, though Gogo continues to break by heart with long periods of dead networking. I couldn't get much done, so I watched Zero Dark Thirty. The book No Easy Day was much better.

We made it in early, which was nice, and now I'm writing this as I sit and wait for our gaming editor, Simon Sage to arrive. He flew straight from PAX East in Boston.

Hey, Rene! Do you think it is possible that Apple might one day come up with their own bluetooth/wireless controller for games? Kinda like a PS3 / Xbox controller? I can totally see them doing this seeing as how iOS games are becoming more and more popular with better graphics and stories; however, you are more knowledgeable in this field so I was hoping you would be able to tell me.

One thing I love about your site is your never to busy to keep in contact with your readers. Whether its returning a tweet or visiting with them when your in their town. Can't say that for a lot of other big sites. I'm kind if a tech nerd hobbiest in my free time. It's always good to know that someone is actually reading what is posted on your site. Keep up the good work and safe travels!

Oh the horrible life you lead. Having to travel to other countries and go to game conferences. How do you manage?
Seriously though, have fun and please bring back some good news on the classic rpg front.

Hey Rene, while you're there try to convince devs that OSX is also a platform of choice for gamers (we finally have machines decent enough to run blockbusters), and especially gamers that pay for their games (think steam) versus PC gamers where piracy is so easy it's becoming difficult to resist.

I would be very curious to hear if the success of Letterpress has made developers more likely to embrace Apple's turn/management schemes, or if the initial stumbles of Apple's infrastructure has made them skittish.

Since I like gaming and can't afford a console or have the time for one, I'm a PC guy (namely Minecraft and WoW), 3DS (Pokemon), and mobile gamer. Still can't wait for the Bladepad to come out, I'll definitely buy one.
But I'm also glad I came to read the rest of this post. Now I know if I don't get the full time position there are part time ones coming up. But enough of that, have fun in SF and I can't wait for the updates.

I'll be honest, I have been an Apple-sceptic over the years - since my first experiences with both Apple Mac and Windows computers at university back in 19xx... That said, my appreciation of Apple's products and design philosophy has grown over the years, whilst my opinion of various other IT companies has diminished [along with the quality of their products and vision].

My experience is that it is less a case of whether Apple "gets" gaming, more whether the hard-core gaming fraternity [and face it, it is still very much a fraternity] "get" Apple. There is a place for the increasingly complex and lifelike graphics supplied on the latest games, and they are undoubtedly hugely impressive. However, if less is more, then the opposite is also true; why else do we still play board games, or noughts and crosses [tic-tac-toe for those of you across the pond]?

Yes, there were mobile games before Apple's iOS, but it is hard to imagine the proliferation of titles currently available across all mobile platforms without the impetus given by the iPhone and iPad.